


Angels Fall

by kyrrann



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Citadel, Crucible, Earth, F/M, Final Battle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-07
Updated: 2016-10-07
Packaged: 2018-08-20 02:34:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8233063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyrrann/pseuds/kyrrann
Summary: As Shepard makes her last stand in the battle against the Reapers, she is comforted by visions of her lost love.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place at the end of Mass Effect 3 (destroy ending). I took some artistic license with this scene, of which I hope you will indulge me. 
> 
> MEFF Facebook group drabble challenge. The prompt was "songs & music” with Shepard and one other character. My song is Angels Fall by Breaking Benjamin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zFfRSeA1ls

**Shepard. Commander!**

Shepard sat slumped on a platform in the heart of the Citadel. Pain emanated from every cell in her body, blood dripping from open wounds. David Anderson, her mentor and closest thing she had to a father sat beside her. He no longer drew breath and she realized it would not be long before she joined him in silent slumber. She wished for the ability to fall into memories like the Drell. What she wouldn’t give spend her last moments comfortably wrapped in Thane’s strong arms. To feel his soft lips on her skin.

“Siha!”

She shook her head, trying to make sense of the voice that called out to her. That familiar voice. Her body ached to hear it again. “Thane,” she whispered as she attempted to get off the ground and onto her feet. “I ... what do you need me to do?”

**Nothing’s happening. The crucible's not firing.**

She continued to struggle, only to find her legs would not work the way she intended. The pain washed over her body anew and she collapsed to the ground, face smacking the cold, smooth floor.

**It’s got to be something on your end.**

“Siha, angel, you have got to keep moving,” the voice called to her from the other side of the room.

“Thane,” she said softly, “where are …” Realizing her feet would not bear her weight, she began to crawl, slow and steady toward the direction of the voice. Not just any voice. His voice.

**Commander Shepard!**

“Siha, you can’t give up. You can’t give in,” it came again. “You must keep moving.”

Shepard saw the silhouette of her friend, her lover, her lifeline, standing in front of a console, beckoning her to move forward. She reached out to him, fingers grasping only air.

“I don’t see .. I’m not sure how to …”

The pain was too much and once more she felt the blackness reaching up to claim her.

**Commander!**

She was barely aware of the floor below her moving, stretching ever higher. She opened her eyes, not able to recall how long she had lain there. It took every ounce of strength that remained to pull herself up on her hands and knees. With every movement the agony threatened to rush her headlong into the void.

 _I tried to face the fight within, but it’s over_ , she thought. “I can’t … “

**We’ve got to give her more time.**

She lifted her head. The darkness of space that stretched out before her, lit up with silent explosions, each one representing the end of a life in this fruitless battle against the Reapers. They were her people, her friends. She had failed them.

 _I'm ready for the riot to begin, and surrender._ The thought swirled around her head, and she wanted nothing more than to give into it. It was only her stubborn pride that stopped her.  Up ahead she noticed a bright beam rising through the center of the platform upon which she was perched. She tried to shield her eyes against the glare as a familiar figure, white and ghostly made it’s way closer to her.

“You can rest soon, Siha,” it said. “But first you must finish what you started.”

**Close ranks around the crucible.**

“Thane,” she called out, scarcely a whisper. Her lips, cracked and bleeding felt odd as she rolled his name over her tongue one last time. “You … you’re here?”

“I am always with you, Siha,” he intoned, the affection in his voice washing over her, urging her on. “I walked the path that led me to the end, remember? But I will not let you walk that path alone.”

She swallowed hard and pushed herself onto her feet. She staggered forward towards the man her heart still yearned for. “I don’t understand.”

“There is yet one more task for you to perform,” he explained. “I cannot do it for you.”

She forced herself to stand straighter, her hand clutching the bloody wound on her side. “What do I need to do?”

“Can you still fire your gun?”

“Yes.” She pulled the pistol from her belt and studied it, wondering how such a small firearm could help her now.

**Shepard, if you’re going to do something, do it fast.**

“Over there,” he pointed towards a single conduit on the right side of the dais, “That is the last barrier that stands in the way of the crucible firing.”

Shepard nodded, well aware that once the crucible fired, she would not likely survive the resulting blast. “It was a great fight,” she murmured, gazing into his large, inviting eyes.

“Then go and finish it,” he responded. “When all is lost and daylight finally ends, I’ll carry you and we will live forever.”

His words gave her comfort. She wrapped herself in that thought as her feet plodded ever forward. She felt him move with her, almost as if he were carrying her along the path. She held up her gun and began to fire, faster and faster. Glass breaking, covering her in shards. One. Two. Three.

**All fleets, the crucible is armed. Disengage and head for the rendezvous point.**

As the fire came up to claim her, she fell contentedly into his warm embrace.

“Forever,” she breathed.


End file.
